Everlasting Protection
by mooksie01
Summary: Ty is struggling to cope after he loses one of the most important people in his life. Set in the Minecraft Universe with some real-life elements (Well, doesn't that make me sound fancy?


**A/N: So yeah, this is pretty much just a filler that I'm writing for because I'm currently working on something that is just giving me all the trouble in the world since it's in a fandom I haven't worked with before… Whatever the case, I hope you enjoy! You can think of this as either Platonic!Setolox or Setolox, whichever you prefer!**

** A/N TO THE A/N: So yeah, this author's note is currently being written after I actually finished writing the story and it went from an idea that should've provided a three hundred word one-shot to a full-blown story that took me a full day to write, and that I kind of want to make a miniseries for that would be on the side about random moments from the universe… um, woops? So if any of you want a miniseries then could you tell me? It would give me the motivation to actually get off my ass and do so. Alright, thank you all!**

** A/N TO THE A/N TO THE A/N: If I do make this into a series it'll be called my GuardianAngelAU or GAAU. Alright, I'm done rambling, enjoy!**

**Everlasting Protection**

It was all an accident to begin with. It didn't matter that they had kicked him out of Team Crafted, he wouldn't just let one of them die. He wasn't like that. It probably helped that he still cared for them all and loved them dearly, even if that care wasn't returned. Of course, it would probably help to start from the beginning.

It had been a couple of months since he'd been kicked out of Team Crafted, one of the most well-known groups in all of Minecraftia. It wasn't like he was upset that he'd lost the fame; no, he was depressed because he had lost his friends, the only ones he had ever had, in fact. It took so little time for people to forget about him, too… His 'friends' hadn't spoken to him since they kicked him out, par Ty, of course. Ty was the only one who stuck up for him. Ty was the only one who had talked to him and checked up on him after the incident.

Seto sighed as these familiar thoughts ran through his head. Familiar, because they had been running through his head non-stop since the incident itself. He'd lost so much sleep just staring up at his bedroom ceiling, wondering, '_Why? Why would they just kick me to the curb like that?'_

Seto closed his eyes as he walked down the sidewalk. Breathing shakily to prevent the oncoming tears, he exhaled as he opened his eyes. He was walking through Minecraftia; something he hadn't done in a while, not since he'd last seen the guys. Seto's head snapped up as he heard a familiar laugh over the traffic of the busy street. Glancing over, his suspicions were quickly confirmed when he was met with the sight of seven guys beginning to cross the street, all laughing loudly. Adam's laugh stuck out above all of the others, just like it always did. He sighed, '_Even when I'm only about ten yards from them they don't notice me,'_ he thought sadly.

Beginning to turn away he caught a glimpse of some idiot speeding down the road. He winced; this guy was going to hurt somebody. Taking one last look at his friends, Seto's eyes widened. This guy was going to _hurt somebody._ Apparently, _somebody_ meant Mitch and Jerome, because this car was barreling straight towards them and they hadn't even noticed.

_'No. Oh, Notch, please, no!'_ Seto thought, crying out, he began running towards the two as quickly as he could, scared to death that he wouldn't get there in time; that he wouldn't be able to save these two, who used to be two of his best friends; who _love each other_ _so much_, and how could this selfish driver just try to take it all away from them? They had a future together; they were going to get _married._ There was no time to cast a spell, and Seto would be damned if he was going to let their lives just get snuffed out like some little torch flame.

Seto gasped for breath, crying out for them to hurry up and, "_Move, dammit, move!"_ Glancing at the car he realized that they wouldn't be able to move in time. He was only a couple feet behind them now, and the screams of bystanders echoed in his ears. They turned around just in time to be hit with the full force of his body weight; making them fall backwards. _Out of the way of the car._ He realized two seconds before it happened that he was in the path of the car now; that now he was the one in danger, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

_'Mitch and Jerome are safe. I finally did something useful.'_ And then crushing weight and unbearable pain. He felt his broken body be thrown to the side, and Ty's scream echoed in his ears as the world faded to black.

* * *

Ty was having a great day. He had gone out with Adam, Jason, Mitch, Jerome, Ian, and Quentin to see a new movie that had just come out, and now they were on their way to some new restaurant that everyone seemed to be raving about. He was grinning as the light turned red and they began to cross the busy street. Adam cracked a stupid joke and he laughed, and looking back on it, he wondered how everything could have gone _so wrong_ so fast.

He was still grinning as he glanced back at the sound of someone yelling, "-ammit! Move!" Glancing back, he caught sight of a familiar figure running towards them at full speed. His eyebrows drew together. He raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sun. Able to see clearly now, he realized why the figure was so familiar. Short stature, purple robes, and brunette hair flying free in the wind as his hood had fallen off with how fast he was running… wait, why in the world was he running?

"Seto…?" Ty murmured, before repeating himself, louder this time, "Seto!"

Seto didn't even look at him. What in the world was he-? Ty's head whipped around as people around him started to scream. He gasped as he caught sight of a bright red car speeding towards Mitch and Jerome who started to turn around. '_Oh my Notch. They're going to die!' _Ty screamed, starting to reach towards them just as Seto crashed into both of them. Adam caught him when he stumbled backwards as Mitch's body collided with his own. Mitch was clutching tightly to Jerome's arm as they both watched with wide, shocked eyes as the car flew past them; literally inches from their faces.

Ty breathed a soft sigh of relief before he froze again. Something; _someone, _was missing.

'_No.'_

More screams echoed through the air, and it wasn't because the car was driving towards a wall.

'_No.'_

Ty cried out, struggling to get out of Adam's tight grip.

'_NO.'_

Ty heard a scream, and as he began to run toward the crumpled body that had been thrown to the side of the road, he realized dully that it might've been his own. He heard the others following quickly behind him, though they didn't seem to realize just _who_ had just saved Mitch and Jerome.

"No! Nononononononononono! NO!" Tears were streaming down his cheeks and Adam was reaching out to him just as he reached the unmoving body. He couldn't blame them for not realizing who it was sooner; the gorgeous, intricate robes that Seto always wore were completely soaked in crimson blood.

"Ty, calm down, we can get this guy to a hospi-" Quentin's shaky voice was cut off with a gasp as Ty finally dropped down to his knees by the body and flipped it over.

Shocked gasps echoed in Ty's ears, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He felt hollow as he gazed at delicate features, completely stained with blood. Wide, purple-brown eyes gazed emptily up at him as he searched desperately for any sign of life in his friend. His chest looked like a crumpled milk bucket, and Ty realized with sickening clarity that his broken ribs had pierced the formerly-porcelain skin in at least two places. He knew it was a lost cause, but he couldn't prevent himself from furthering his despair as he searched for a pulse. Nothing.

A choked sob escaped Ty's lips as he bent over Seto's still body, clutching the empty shell close to his chest. No more dodgy map tactics, no more lighthearted giggles, no more terrible jokes that made everyone laugh anyways; no more Seto. How could Seto be dead? How could the universe just get rid of someone so special? He was a _sorcerer _for Notch's sake, so why couldn't the universe have just given him one freebie; he had already had to deal with enough _shit_ in his life, and now he didn't even have that life anymore. Seto was gone and deep-down Ty couldn't help but feel like it was his fault; like if he had just been a little bit faster, if he had just noticed that car sooner, nobody would have gotten hurt. Seto wouldn't be dead.

"Come on, kid, why don't you put the dead guy down. I get that he saved your friend and all, but-" Ty whipped around, glaring at this- this _asshole_ who had just told him to let go of his _best friend._ Some tall guy who had _no business_ telling him what to do. Some tall _asshole_ who was acting like he _knew_ what Seto meant to him. _Some asshole that just referred to Seto as an insignificant 'dead guy'. _

Ty slowly stood, gingerly laying Seto back down on the ground, before turning around and slamming his fist into the guy's jaw. The guy stumbled back, clutching his jaw. "_How dare you?_" Ty hissed, "How dare you act like he didn't matter?! He was my best friend, and now… he's… he's…" Ty choked, crumpling down to the ground next to his friend. He felt strong arms wrap around him, and guide him safely to the ground. He looked up into the solemn, tearful face of Adam; the rest of their friends behind the two of them, staring at Seto's bloodied body with tears running in rivulets down their cheeks.

Ty was suddenly hyper-aware of his best friend's blood soaking into his jeans and t-shirt. Of the whispers of the crowd surrounding them. Of the sirens that were slowly getting louder. Of the steaming wreckage of the car that had _killed_ Seto. Of the fact that the _damned_ driver who had killed his best friend was still alive; sitting pretty over by said wrecked car, looking for all the world like a smug son of a bitch who had had a few too many and had still been _stupid_ enough to go driving; who didn't give a _damn_ that he had just killed of one of the most important people in Ty's life.

And then all of a sudden Adam was slowly pulling him back, and paramedics were surrounding Seto's crushed form, and one of them had his hand on Seto's neck and he was shaking his head. Seto was dead. It still didn't seem real; it was like a nightmare come true. Ty felt like he was floating. A couple of paramedics began to wrap Seto into a body bag, and another was collapsing a stretcher onto the ground next to him.

Ty cried out, struggling against Adam, who could do nothing but hold tighter, trying to calm down his grief-stricken friend. A paramedic had approached Ty and was now holding onto Ty's shoulders, gazing into his wide, tearful eyes and trying to talk to him in a calm voice. Ty could only stare confusedly at the paramedic. It was like he wasn't speaking English; nothing he said made sense. Somebody was wrapping a yellow blanket around his shoulders, and the paramedic was gently guiding him into a second ambulance separate from the one that Seto's body was being loaded into. Adam kept his arm around Ty's shoulders the entire time.

"Wh-What are we doing?" Ty mumbled, "We… We need to go with Seto…"

Adam rubbed his arm, his own face covered in tears, and his own clothes spattered with Seto's blood. "Ty… Seto's gone. We can't go with him. I'm sorry."

"Gone?"

"He's dead, Ty."

"What? He can't be dead. Seto's a sorcerer… he- he's too powerful to die."

The paramedic looked on solemnly before sighing.

"I'm sorry."

* * *

It took a few days for the group to come to terms with what happened. Ty was more than a little worse for wear; they all were, really. They were currently sitting in the meeting room of the Team Crafted base. The last time they had all been here together, they were breaking the news to Seto that they were kicking him out of the team. Ty thought it was cruel irony that they were now here to discuss what to do about his death.

Nobody dared to argue when Ty silently dragged the eighth chair back up to the meeting table. They had removed it after Seto was gone. He set it next to his own seat; right where it used to be. Hesitantly, he let go of Jason's hand so that the spaceman could go sit in his own chair, before taking a seat beside the empty seat he had just replaced, keeping his tight grip on Adam's hand all the while. That in itself was another thing that had changed. Ty had refused to let Jason and Adam out of his sight ever since Seto's death. He was so terrified of having another one of his friends stolen from right under his nose.

Once everyone was seated they just stared at each other, everyone but Ty avoiding looking at the empty seat as stony silence descended upon the room. Ty cleared his throat, causing everyone to look at him.

"He had a will," Ty muttered.

"What?" Quentin asked.

"Seto. He had a will."

Jason looked sick, "Why would Seto have a will? He was younger than all of us."

That statement seemed to send a shockwave through the room. It was true. Seto was younger than every single one of them. He was _dead_, even though he had more life left to live than any of them… with his powers he could've made such a huge difference in the world, but he was _dead._

Ty took a shaky breath before continuing, "He was a sorcerer. That's some dangerous business. They have some pretty serious enemies, and Seto always had a suspicion that he was going to die young. He wrote a will; you know, what needs to happen at his funeral, what rituals need to be performed to allow his soul to pass on, who his things will go to; that kind of stuff. I don't think that he thought he would die like this… but, if I know him, he wouldn't regret it."

"What do you mean by rituals?" Mitch asked quietly.

"Again; he was a sorcerer. They have a ton of superstitions and stuff. He would have specific instructions that outline the ways to ensure that his soul would go to the Aether," Ty replied.

"Where would the will be?" Adam asked.

"His house," Ty stood up, "We should probably go get it."

The others glanced at each other before following him out the door.

* * *

For everyone but Ty, this was their first time seeing Seto's house. It was a small cottage in the middle of a large forest. There was a large amount of yellow roses outside of the house, giving off a strong scent. The inside of the house was perfectly neat and tidy, minus the thin layer of dust that had gathered upon the furniture and floor from the lack of upkeep in the past days. Light filtered in through the windows, giving the rooms an ethereal glow and highlighting the dust motes that were disturbed as the group walked through what had been Seto's home.

Ty walked slowly through his late friend's house, his eyes slowly tracing every detail; knowing that this might be the last time he saw it like this, depending on what Seto's will said. He knew that the small brunette hadn't had a family; he had been an orphan for as long as Ty had known him, but if the house wasn't given to him, he knew that whoever did get the house would inevitably change it. They also wouldn't know about all of the secrets within the walls of this house; of everything Seto had worked so hard to create.

"This house is pretty and all, but it seems remarkably… uh… unremarkable for someone like Seto," Adam said.

Ty laughed thickly before replying, "You just haven't seen all of it yet," and leaving it at that.

He led them down a small hallway to a wooden door. Nobody would have noticed if they hadn't been looking for it, but there were very small runes carved around the doorknob. Seto had once told Ty that normally he would have made the door only unlockable through a verbal spell, but if something ever happened he wanted Ty to be able to open the door, so he had made it a push code. Hidden amongst the runes were small Greek letters, which Ty quickly pressed in succession - Omega, Pi, Epsilon, Nu. The doorknob flashed a bright purple, and Ty turned it and pushed the door open.

Inside, the room once again looked ordinary; a queen-sized bed with a lavender comforter spread across the top of it, and numerous bookshelves spread across the wall that didn't have a window on it. The windowsill had a white vase with a single rhododendron that had somehow remained alive in the absence of Seto.

Ty drifted over to the rightmost shelf against the wall, running his fingers across the spines of the books before pulling on one labeled _The Language of Flowers__. _The wall slid open without a sound and the rest of the team took a second to gape before following Ty down the small stairwell that had appeared. The décor went from modern and cozy to medieval within seconds as the group came upon a large space that was absolutely _littered_ with spell books, various glowing objects, potions, and some rather dangerous-looking weaponry.

A growl echoed from one side of the room, and Ty smiled sadly. The guys stared at each other with wide eyes right before Ty got knocked down by some force they couldn't see. Adam and Jason cried out in alarm. Suddenly, golden light flooded the room, illuminating the heartwarming scene on the ground. A small baby ender dragon seemed to have made itself at home on Ty's chest as Ty smiled at it, stroking its scaly back. Small orange and purple flames drifted quietly around the room.

"Hello, Alabaster," Ty murmured, "Seto never got the chance to tell me how big you had gotten. I've missed you."

The small dragon cooed at the mention of its… father? Master? …Mother?

Adam cleared his throat, and the dragon's focus shifted from Ty to Adam in an instant. The little creature bounded over to Adam sniffing curiously at the General's feet before nuzzling its tiny head against his combat boots.

"That's Alabaster," Ty said, "Seto and I found a dragon egg and hatched it about a month before he got kicked out of the team… The little guy took a shining to Seto right away; imprinting and all. Seto said that since he was the first thing Alabaster saw after he hatched he took on the 'mother' role in Alabaster's cute little head; good thing, too. I can't imagine what would've happened to the little cutie if anyone but Seto had found him," Ty's smile turned bittersweet, "Seto always was good with animals…" He sighed, "It's a good thing that ender dragons are so sturdy; any other creature would've died if they had been left without food for that long."

Ty grabbed a stick, holding it up to one of the floating flames until it lit, before leading the group forward again; the small ender dragon plodding along happily after them. Ty bent over to rifle through a chest a moment before straightening up with a bottle of enchanting in his hand. He handed his torch to Sky and scooped up Alabaster into his arms. Pulling the glass cork off of the bottle with his teeth, he lowered the bottle down toward Alabaster, who quickly began to suckle on it contently. He waved sky forward to fall into line beside him so he could see what he was doing as they continued on.

Ty lead them through a few hallways, twisting and turning until everyone was sure that he was lost; until, suddenly, they came upon a large door covered with runes and more Greek letters. Ty turned to the others, "Please tell me one of you knows what Greek letters look like, because my hands are kind of full."

Seeing the blank looks of the others, he sighed. With some difficulty, he managed to shift Alabaster into a single arm; the dragon now cradling his 'bottle' between his little feet. Just like before, Ty pressed a few of the symbols in quick succession- Pi, Alpha, Sigma, Sigma, Alpha, Gamma, Epsilon.

As Ty finished typing the code, the group was stunned when… nothing happened. Ty turned around; walking down the hall they had come from.

"Um, Ty? Was something supposed to happen?"

Ty closed his eyes as a memory of him saying the exact same thing so long ago resurfaced. It had been when Seto had given him the first of many tours of his home. His _full_ home, that is. He took a deep breath before opening his eyes to ensure that he didn't miss the turn he needed to make. "Something did happen; you just haven't seen it yet."

_Purple-brown eyes sparkling mischievously; brimming with mirth and excitement. A small hand in his own pulling him along down the labyrinthine passages and hallways. A bright grin and soft giggles echoing off the stone walls._

Ty shuddered under the weight of his own memories, carefully adjusting the baby dragon in his arms as it let out a mildly discontent rumble in response to the shifting. Finally, he came upon the dead-end he was looking for. A single tile on the wall was glowing faintly, and Ty only had to tap it once for it to slide open. He reached in, feeling around a bit before locating the thing he was looking for. He drew out an empty wine bottle that had a pristine white papyrus scroll rolled up inside of it.

"Come on," Ty said to the others, handing the bottle to Mitch as he lead them back to the main area of the... he never could figure out what to call this place. A study? A cavern? The basement? Seto's lair? The first three sounded way too plain for this area that Seto had created, and the last one just made Seto sound like some kind of evil mastermind.

As they got back to the main area, Ty drew the empty bottle from Alabaster's little maw, noting the little teeth indents on the thick glass bottle. That was worrying, but it was a worry for another time. He led the group over to Seto's desk where a quill pen rested tranquilly in a small bottle of silver ink; assorted papers and books were scattered all over the desk, and Ty moved a few of them aside as he sat down in Seto's chair and set Alabaster on the ground. Sky handed Ty the torch, which he set on the desk to better light up the space; something he had seen Seto do a dozen times.

"Mitch, can you hand me the bottle? I want to get this over with," Ty breathed.

Mitch looked around unsurely, "Um, Ty, are you sure you want to be the one to do this?"

"No! It- It has to be me. You need to understand, Mitch. If something happened to Jerome it would be you, but… but this is Seto. It… It needs to be me. I need this." Ty sounded like he was barely holding it together.

Mitch handed him the bottle.

* * *

Ty took a deep breath as he uncorked the bottle and drew the scroll out. He slowly pulled the purple lace ribbon wrapped around the scroll loose and the scroll unfurled in his hands. His hands and voice began to shake as he read the final testament of his best friend.

_"I, Seto Sorcerer, residing at 739 Old Forest Lane, Arcadia, Minecraftia, declare this to be my Will, and I revoke any and all wills and codicils I previously made._

_"Article I - Funeral Arrangements: I direct my executor to carry out the necessary formal ceremonies required for the passing of the soul of any divine being; full details on said ceremony are included in the book labeled __Mortuus__ in the predetermined storage area the location of which was decided between myself and my executor._

_ "Article II - Money and Personal Property: I give all of my tangible personal property, minus that which is specifically identified in this document, to my friend Tyler Deadlox. If he does not survive me, I give that property to those of any and all remaining members of Team Crafted who survive me, in equal shares; to be divided among them by a future codicil that shall be created by myself in such an event. Any and all funds left in my passing shall be divided equally between the Team Crafted bank account and the Official Betterment of Minecraftia Fund. Should either of these be non-existent in my passing, then all of my funds shall go to my executor to use as he sees fit. Should my executor not survive me the same procedure as mentioned above shall once again be followed. There shall be a codicil in the predetermined storage area previously mentioned listing any and all requirements for certain specific items that must go into the possession of those other than my executor._

_ "Article III - Real Estate: I give all of my residencies, and all policies and proceeds of insurance covering such property, to my executor. If he does not survive me, I give that property to my personal friend Adam Sky. Should he not survive me also, I give that property to whomever truly needs it and has sworn to treat it well._

_ "Article IV - Fiduciaries: I appoint my close friend, Tyler Deadlox, as Executor or this will. If he is unable or unwilling to act, or resigns, I appoint my friend, Adam Sky, and my friend, Jason Universe, as successor co-executors._

_ "Article V - Guardian: If I do not marry, or my future husband does not survive me, and I leave behind my dear pet dragon, Alabaster, I appoint as guardian of the person, or, rather, dragon of my pet, Alabaster, my executor, Tyler Deadlox._

_ "I have signed this will this March day of 12, 2012._

_ "Seto Sorcerer."_

Ty read the final words with a whimper. He couldn't believe that Seto had left him nearly everything in his will. He hadn't even had a plan in case he got married. He really thought that his life would be _that_ short. The worst part was that he was correct in his thinking so.

"What did he mean by, 'necessary formal ceremonies'?" Mitch whispered, "Also, is that will even still valid? It was written before we… yeah."

Ty took a shaky breath, before replying, "If he had wanted to nullify it; he would have. He had two months to do it after you all kicked him out, and Seto was never one for procrastinating. The ceremonies are a set of requirements that must be completed at the funeral in order to allow Seto's soul to pass on."

Standing up slowly, the others watched as Ty crossed the room and crouched on the floor to open a large hope chest that had been pushed up against the far wall. They saw his eyes tear up as he gingerly drew out a small pile of neatly folded purple robes; the same ones that Seto had always worn, and set them on the floor. Alabaster padded over and whined lowly as he nuzzled the robes, wondering where his mother had gone. The group's attention was drawn from the small creature to Ty as he let out a choked sob. He was clutching one particular robe that didn't look like any of the others to his chest. The robe was a radiant shade of white, becoming more of a cream color as it tapered off near the bottom. There were accents of pale lavender in places throughout the robe. The fabric shimmered lightly in the dim light. And Ty was sobbing over it.

"Ty…?" Adam prodded cautiously.

"I- I'm sorry…" Ty whispered, rubbing furiously at his red-rimmed eyes, "These- These robes are what Seto would have worn if-" He trailed off.

"If?" Jason prompted.

"-If he had ever gotten married," Ty whimpered. "They're ceremonial… the whites and pastels are supposed to represent purity in a bride."

_"I know that it's odd!" Seto laughed, "But I swear, I can feel that I would be the bride if I got married." Ty was laughing. "I swear!" Seto couldn't seem to stop giggling as he attempted to re-fold the robe. His eyes were sparkling as he finally gave up and set the robe down on his desk._

"A bride?" Ty snapped back to reality at Ian's sudden question.

"S-Something about being able to 'feel' it? I don't know, S-Seto tried to explain it, but sorcerers are weird," Ty said. He forced out a weak, breathy laugh. "I-I should probably keep looking for the robe we need, huh?" He hesitantly handed the ceremonial robe over to Adam, who took it with careful hands and folded it delicately back up before setting it in his own lap.

"H-Here it is," Ty drew out another odd-looking robe and let it unfold itself as the others gazed at it. The robe was silver, with pitch black and pale blue accents. It was gorgeous and intricate, just like every other robe Seto owned.

"This is the robe that Seto needs to wear at his funeral. He has a potion ready somewhere that is meant to repair any physical damage done to his body so that the funeral can be open casket. There's a specific list of flowers that _need_ to be there, ones that _can_ be there, and ones that absolutely _cannot._ There are a few other requirements, but those are the really important ones."

The funeral was a quiet affair that was held a few days later. Only Team Crafted and a few other specific close friends were there. All of the arrangements were perfectly taken care of, thanks to Ty. Seto had been sent off to the Aether and for everyone present; it felt like the end of an era. All of the mourners were dressed in pale silver at the request of Seto, and everything went exactly the way it was supposed to.

* * *

It had been a few months now since Seto had died, and, for Ty, things hadn't gotten any easier. The others were slowly moving on, but Ty seemed to be unable to do so. He had moved into the guest room of Seto's old home, and Alabaster slept at the end of his bed every night; though Ty knew that the little guy was still waiting for the day when he could greet Seto at the fence gate again.

It was a night in July when it happened; Ty had been sitting in his bed while Alabaster was padding around downstairs, staring down at a picture of Seto and himself; he had his arm wrapped around Seto's slim shoulders as Seto was caught mid-laugh by the photo. Dark thoughts began to envelop his mind; would have, should have, could have… Ty jumped at the sound of a soft voice coming from next to him, "You need to move on, you know?"

Ty's eyes widened in disbelief; he _knew_ that voice. His head turned to the side fast enough to give him whiplash. "S-Seto…" Ty took in the sight beside him; Seto sitting cross-legged on the bed next to him, gazing down at the photo with a sad smile on his face. He was swathed in shimmering white robes; the hood down, allowing his soft brunette hair to pool around his shoulders and the back of his neck.

At Ty's words, Seto's gaze moved up to meet Ty's own. Shocked red orbs gazed into calm purple-brown ones. "Seto…" Ty breathed, tears beginning to flow from his eyes.

"Hush," Seto whispered, bringing a pale hand up to wipe the tears from Ty's cheeks. "Don't cry."

Ty's eyes finally took in the final piece of Seto's appearance: large, iridescent angel wings that seemed to absorb the slight amount of light in the dim room and turn it into an array of gorgeous colors as Seto shifted. "But- But you- you're dead."

"I am," Seto affirmed, "But Notch gave me permission to come speak to you. After all, what kind of guardian angel would I be if I let you continue to think all of those terrible thoughts?"

"You're my guardian angel?" Ty questioned, his eyes drinking in the sight of Seto, looking perfectly at peace with the world, sitting calmly next to Ty as if he had never died.

"Well, yours and the rest of Team Crafted's, but that's not what I came here to talk to you about," Seto's expression turned stern, "You need to move on, Ty."

Ty's eyes filled with tears again, "How am I supposed to move on? You're not around anymore, Seto. You were the one who was always there when I needed a shoulder to lean on, and now you're not. I don't know how to deal with losing my best friend. Especially since I could have prevented it and I _didn't._"

Seto's face softened. He sighed, reaching up to lay a tender hand on Ty's cheek, "It wasn't your fault, Ty, none of it was. It was my decision. We're not in high school anymore, Ty; it's not just you and I against the world like it used to be. You have so many friends who love you, now. They want to be there for you, and the only one pushing them away is you. You don't need me to function, buddy. That's the difference between us; I wouldn't have been able to live without you if you had died first, because I'm not strong like you. You're _so_ strong, Ty. You can make it through this. One day, you'll pass from this mortal plane, too, and it will be your time to join us in the Aether, and when that day comes I'll guide you up there myself, but you can't spend the time until then being sad all the time. You have a life to live, so stop moping and live it. Don't make me responsible for your sadness anymore, I'm begging you."

"I-I miss you, Seto. "

"I miss you, too, Ty," Seto murmured softly, "Now go to sleep, Ty, and don't force me to come talk to you about this again; I don't think I could take it."

"I… Alright, thank you, Seto," Ty said softly, "Will-Will I see you again?"

"You might; I'm always around, after all, so you might catch a glance every once in a while, but I won't be able to chat with you again like this until I'm bringing you to the Aether," Seto answered calmly; slowly guiding Ty until he was lying down on the soft mattress, "Now, sleep."

Ty felt a sudden wave of drowsiness slam into him at the angel's soft words. A slim hand thread into his hair, stroking the locks calmly as Ty's eyes slid closed. Just before he drifted off he felt a pair of soft lips ghost over his forehead.

"Goodnight, Ty."


End file.
